By: Felecia Valenzuela DPI Guyana
The Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday morning officially took up the Chairmanship of CARICOM, pledging to work to ensure a more sufficient air transport system to serve the sub-region.
Dr. Gonsalves, who is also Chair of the region’s Transportation Portfolio in the CARICOM Qazi Cabinet, hopes to achieve reliable and sustainable service.
“I have already been in touch with several airlines.”… “I believe that we are going to be able to provide in a very short time a sufficiency of regional transport to serve the sub-region, to serve ourselves safely, reliably, sustainably and reasonably priced,” he announced.
Dr. Gonsalves said on the agenda for the next six months of his chairmanship is to deal with the challenge of COVID-19 and its four interconnected dimensions of health, the economy, society and security.
“These large strategic issues and more confront us, so too are those concerning the internal arrangements of our Caribbean Community itself,” the St. Vincentian Prime Minister added
Meanwhile, outgoing CARICOM Chair, Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, in commending the work of CARICOM agencies – its Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and its Public Health Agency (CARPHA)- encouraged financial assistance for these institutions which she said served the region well.
A virtual hand-over ceremony was held for the CARICOM Chairmanship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.